Light Painting a Route 66 Diorama (Circa 1958)
Up next, we have something very cool and different: a light painting of a Route 66 Diorama! Joannie and I have light painted some unique and unusual items over the years, but this one might just take the cake!
We created this light painting project for Steve on the same day that we created the amazing 14-vehicle light painting project that you see below!
All told, we took 646 images for this 14-vehicle light painting, and it took 241 of those images and over 275 layers in Photoshop to create this artwork for Steve! The light painting of the Route 66 diorama would be next.
A few days prior, Steve had given us a tour of his amazing garage. This incredible Route 66 Diorama is right there to greet you when you walk in the front door! As a former model railroader, it just blew me away! Immediately, I thought of how cool it would be to light paint it.
Below, we have a short 18-second video, taken with my iPhone, that shows just how wide (and cool) this amazing Route 66 diorama is!
Route 66 Diorama Light Painting Project
Upon setting a date to light paint part of Steve’s amazing car collection, I mentioned to him that it would be pretty amazing to light paint the Route 66 diarama if we had the chance. He agreed that it would be cool to do so. So, upon completing the light painting photography for “The Main Event” (which took more than 7 hours), we set up for this one.
I knew we could do the light painting photography part on this one relatively quickly. The tricky part would be getting it all in the camera. The entire diorama is 20 feet wide, and it sits right inside the front doors. There was no way to back up and get it all in one shot. So we broke it up into 3 parts.
By doing so, it allowed Joannie and I to capture much more detail by getting close to each section. And this wonderful display is chock full of details!
Don Bonin – The Man With A Route 66 Vision
About 20 years ago, Steve rode with a buddy out to pick up a car bumper that he had re-chromed for him. The gentleman’s name is Don Bonin. Don had several old cars that he was going ”to get to” and restore. Anyway, upon entering his shop, Steve saw a diorama that Don was working on.
Steve’s father had started as a pattern maker and had made some pretty amazing things out of wood. A couple of those items were a covered wagon with four horses and, later on, a violin. So Steve fell in love with what Don could do.
In the left portion of the diorama, you’ll find Cline’s Garage, the Flying C Ranch, the Flying C Cafe, and Homer’s Used Cars Parts Junkyard.
Steve told Don that he had to have one! That was when Don informed him that he would be at the end of a line that was five people long. Well, not to be deterred, Steve called him every two or three months to see if he had moved up on the list. Finally, Don told him, “You must really want one!” And because nobody else has shown anywhere near the interest, Steve moved up to next on Don’s list!
Don created a “Garske Chevrolet Dealership” for Steve, and later on, an old car graveyard. Then, he mentioned to Steve about a Route 66 project he wanted to do as his final one. Of course, Steve told him that he was going to buy it! And they even agreed on a price (before it was even built)!
Featured at Back to the Fifties Weekend
Three years and about 3000 hours of Don’s labor later, it was finished! For the next 2 years, Don would set up the whole diorama for the Back to the 50’s Weekend at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. It was trailered and transported back and forth in two 10’ x 4’ sections. I can only imagine what it was like to move this from one place to another!
At this point, Don wasn’t quite as young as he once was. It was simply getting to be too much to take it there and sit next to it for three full days, so he was ready to sell.
The center section of the diorama showcases the Tower Court as it looked in 1958.
The Route 66 Diorama Gets A New Home
After Steve owned it, he began to build his car garage. He designed the entrance of the building specifically to house the diorama so that it greeted visitors as they walked in.
The diorama is 20’ long and 4’ deep and features several unique Route 66 properties. Each property was located in a different State along Route 66 in 1958. Don worked off of pictures that he found in books.
Most of the vehicles in the Route 66 diorama were purchased from Danbury and the Franklin Mint (at about $130 each, back then). Don took a number of them apart, aged them, and then put them back together. Some of them, he added, damage; for others, he added rust.
This is the right section, with a Don Bonin Chevrolet Dealership and a Standard Service Station, circa 1958. The details are just amazing!
Don purchased a large number of figurines, all in 1:20 scale to match the buildings, etc. He then hand-painted them! The diorama’s attention to detail is incredible, including a screen door and photos on the walls of the diner.
Don has a fellow washing the windows of the dealership. And while the windows are dirty in front of the character, they’re clean behind. The diorama even has a stream (with running water) within it, and the buildings are all lit inside.
Don Bonin is now 91 and still loves to visit junkyards! Joannie and I can attest that this is truly a work of art!
The Left Side of the Route 66 Diorama
As mentioned earlier, to get it all in, we split the diorama into 3 parts. Here are the Route 66 buildings featured in the left section.
Light Painting Cline’s Garage
Here’s the water tower and Cline’s Garage. Cool, just cool!
Cline’s Garage is typical of the garages that you would have found in the 50s along Route 66. It’s now called Clines Corners (the apostrophe is now gone) and is located in New Mexico, where Interstate 40 meets U.S. 285. The original Cline’s Corners (with the apostrophe) was located several miles south from where it is now, where what they called old Highway 6 intersected with old Highway 2.
Light Painting Cline’s Flying C Ranch and the Flying C Cafe
Here, you can fill ‘er up at Cline’s Flying C Ranch and also stop for a hardy meal at the Flying C Cafe.
In the light painted photograph above, we have Cline’s Flying C Ranch and the Flying C Cafe as they appeared in New Mexico in the 50s. The Flying C Ranch is currently a truck stop called Clines Corners.
Light Painting Homer’s Used Cars Parts Junkyard
Back in the day, places like Homer’s Used Cars Parts Junkyard were found all along Route 66.
On the bottom of the left section of the diarama is Homer’s Used Cars Parts Junkyard. This amazingly detailed junkyard pays homage to all of the junkyards that were found along Route 66 back in 1958. Several of those cars that Don applied damage and aging to are found here.
The Center Section of the Route 66 Diorama
The center section features the Tower Court Motel. It’s the biggest structure and serves as the centerpiece of the entire Route 66 diorama.
Light Painting The Tower Court
A nice light painted close up of the The Tower Court (circa 1958).
Here is the Tower Court as it appeared in 1948. It is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. In the 1940s, it was quite typical of motels to be called “courts”. The fancier motels had a garage for each unit.
The Right Section of the Route 66 Diorama
The right section features two amazingly detailed Route 66 buildings and many cool cars, too!
Light Painting the Route 66 “Don Bonin” Chevrolet Dealership
This is pretty much how a Chevrolet Dealership looked in 1958, cars and all, on Route 66. This one is aptly named Don Bonin Chevrolet after the creator and designer of the wonderful diorama.
The Don Bonin Chevrolet Dealership building was, at one time, actually a Ford dealership in Kansas on Route 66.
Light Painting the Route 66 Standard Gas Station
A Standard Service Station as it looked on Route 66 in 1958.
This Standard Gas Station was on Route 66 in Illinois.
Route 66 Diorama – The Movie
Originally, I wasn’t going to make a “Build Video” of this light painting project. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to create one. There are just too many tiny details that should be seen up close. So, here you go!
If You Think This Light Painting Project Looks Cool, There’s Lots More!
If you think this project is pretty amazing, please check out our dedicated light painting website at MichaelAndersonLightPainting.com. It’s filled with light painted projects, including:
- Cool light paintings of construction equipment
- Police cars and fire trucks
- Aircraft, restaurants, and other unusual projects like this one
- Lots and lots of Corvettes!
- Many other cool cars, trucks, and motorcycles
- There’s even an entire page of unique light paintings that we created at weddings!
We hope you enjoyed this little walk back in time on Route 66! Thank you for taking the time to read our post, and have a great day! – M&J